The Expansion of Dual Language Bilingual Education into New Communities and Languages: The Case of Hebrew in a New York City Public Middle School

Abstract

This article describes a case study of dual language bilingual education (DLBE) that challenges the model’s traditional mold while offering important insights into its utility for communities of less commonly taught languages. We begin with an outline of the expansion of DLBE in New York City, part of a broader national trend. We then explore a new Hebrew-English DLBE program at a traditional New York City public middle school, documenting the program’s establishment and evolution over its first few years. Following this, we examine the school’s replacement of DLBE with a “heritage language program” model and show how both options are mismatched to the community’s actual needs or interests and ultimately restrict the possibilities for Hebrew learning. Specifically, we contribute to growing critiques of rigidity in program models, showing how at times adherence to the model is prioritized over the actual needs of students and their families—even when school leaders maintain they are implementing DLBE for the community. We argue that alternatives to DLBE with greater flexibility can serve crucial goals for local communities.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional Resources

1. García, O., Johnson, S. & Seltzer, K. (2017). The Translanguaging classroom: Leveraging student bilingualism for learning. Philadelphia, PA: Caslon.

This book is for educators who would like to incorporate students’ fluid and dynamic language practices flexibly in their classrooms through translanguaging pedagogy. The authors offer many examples of translanguaging pedagogy in action from different classrooms and contexts.

2. Menken, K. (2017). Leadership in dual language bilingual education: A National Dual Language Forum white paper. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. http://www.cal.org/ndlf/pdfs/publications/NDLF-White-Paper-October-2017.pdf

This online white paper from the National Dual Language Forum focuses on leadership in DLBE and offers important considerations and useful information for school leaders who are seeking to open new DLBE programs.

3. Avni, S. (2012). Hebrew as heritage: The work of language in religious and communal continuity. Linguistics and Education, 23(3), 323–333.

This article offers background on Hebrew education in the United States in Jewish educational settings. Examining the multiple meanings that students and faculty infused into their use of Hebrew through their ideologies, words, and actions, this article highlights the connections between Hebrew and identity.

Notes

¹ Schools received $20,000 to start a new DLBE program, whereas they only received $10,000 to begin a new transitional bilingual education (TBE) program (the other form of bilingual education that can be provided in city schools)—indicative of the NYCDOE’s targeted efforts to expand DLBE programs over other bilingual program models (NYCDOE, 2016).

² MPMS reports that students are 26% Latinx, 36% White, 8% Black, and 29% Asian, 11% of students are designated English language learners, and the Title I population of the school is 75%. The school’s DLBE programs are unzoned, meaning any student living in the borough in which the school is located who attended a DLBE public or private elementary school program may attend (there is presently no waiting list for entrance).

³ A bat mitzvah is a Jewish initiation ceremony for girls when they turn 12 or 13; for boys, it is called a bar mitvah and typically done at age 13.

⁴ All names are pseudonyms.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Spencer Foundation [201700065].